244 



THOMAS BEWICK. 



Cruelty to Animals. The size of the block was the largest Bewick engraved, 

 measuring njJ. by 8f ; and this was made by joining four pieces together, 

 and in order to prevent a like accident to what happened to the Chillingham 

 Bull, he had it bound with transverse layers of mahogany. On this the 

 preliminary design was engraved, giving the forms without tints ; the second 

 and third blocks (never proceeded with) were to be exactly fitting, and to give 

 the light and shade of a finished engraving. The unpleasant flat appearance 

 that the first block has is thus explained. 



Bewick laboured at this engraving up to within a very few days of his 

 death in 1828. It was only the Saturday previous to his decease that he 

 himself carried the block to Walker, the printer, and had four impressions 

 on vellum taken off. One of these is now in the British Museum 

 collection. 



It is scarcely fair to the artist to criticize the engraving, it being so 

 unfinished. There is no question that it would have answered the purpose for 

 which it was prepared, namely, of arousing pity for and sympathy with a 

 faithful horse in its old age ; but there is much question if it can be looked on 

 as a work of art, even if it were completely finished. The landscape, as usual 

 with Bewick, has the elements of success in this its first stage ; and the 

 feeling of chilled misery is represented with something more than potentiality. 

 But the central point in the design, the horse, to which everything else ought 

 to be subordinate, is, in reality, the weakest part of the whole, and the head 

 is out of all proportion with the remainder of the animal. When making the 

 drawing, Bewick had some difficulty in satisfying himself with the eyes of the 

 horse, and Atkinson mentions that he tried to make one on paper, but after 

 repeated endeavours, resulting in what Atkinson thought considerable success, 

 " he declared he must want to copy one from nature." The head is said to 

 have been finished by another engraver in 1832 (when it was published by 

 Robert Bewick at 5s. a copy) ; but the error in drawing the head was funda- 

 mental, and could not easily be exaggerated by another artist. At the same 



